THE STOCK DOVE ao? 



THE STOCK DOVE 



COLUMBA CENAS 



Head, throat, wings, and lower parts, bluish grey ; the lower parts of the 

 neck with metallic reflections, no white spots ; breast wine-red ; a black 

 spot on the two last secondaries and some of the wing-coverts ; primaries 

 grey at the base, passing into dusky ; tail grey barred with black at the 

 extremity, the outer feather with a white spot on the outer web near the 

 base ; irides reddish brown ; bill yellow, red at the base ; feet red ; 

 claws dusky. Length twelve and a half inches. Eggs white. 



The Stock Dove is by some persons supposed to be so called from 

 its having been believed at one time to be the origin of the domestic 

 Pigeon ; but as it bore the name before the above question was 

 mooted, it is more reasonable to suppose that it derived its name 

 from its habit of nestling in the stocks of trees, and not on the 

 branches like the Ring Dove, nor in caves like the Rock Dove. 

 Ray and Willughby, who treat the domestic Dove as a dis- 

 tinct species, gave it the name of (Enas (from the Greek oinos, 

 wine), and Vinago (from the Latin vinum), from the purpled or 

 wine-red hue of its breast and wings. Temminck does not hesi- 

 tate to identify the domestic Pigeon with the Rock Dove, with- 

 out even hinting the possibility of its having derived its origin 

 from the Stock Dove. Since, therefore, the two birds have no 

 marked resemblance, it may be reasonably supposed that the rela- 

 tionship between them rests solely on the narrow foundation that 

 there exists a wild Pigeon, popularly called a Stock Dove, and that 

 the word ' stock ' has among other meanings that of ' parentage ' 

 or ' origin '. Thus the name gave rise to a theory which, having 

 a plausible show, was hastUy assumed, and was then employed 

 to prove a fact which will not bear the test of examination. 

 The Stock Dove in its habits closely resembles the Ring Dove, 

 from which it cannot easily be distinguished at a distance. When 

 tolerably near, a sharp eye can detect the absence of the white 

 patch on the wings and of the ring round the neck. Its flight is 

 more rapid, and it rarely perches on a slender bough, preferring 

 to alight on a main branch or stump. Its note is softer, and 

 approaches that of the tame Pigeon. But the great mark of distinc- 

 tion is that on which I have supposed its name to be founded ; that 

 it does not build its nest among the branches of trees, but in the 

 side of a stump, or other locality, where no one would even think 

 of looking for a Ring Dove's nest. Yarrell states that ' in the 

 open counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, this species frequently 

 makes its nest in holes in the ground, generally selecting a 

 rabbit's burrow'. It has greatly increased in the south of 

 England of late, and it nests along the Moray and Doinock Firths. 

 White, who had never seen its nest, says that it used to- be abundant 

 at Selborne ' from November to February '. Yarrell saw two old 



